Vested In Me
by X6Herbius
Summary: A Gordon & Alyx romance that I felt inspired to write. Common sense has no place here, by the way. Please R&R! :D Chapter 6 added 15/05!
1. Vested In Me

"And now, by the power vested in me by God himself, and with the witness of this entire congregation..."

A flaming zombie wandered absent-mindedly past Gordon, wailing quietly to itself, and the smell of overcooked, sizzling flesh wafted through his nostrils. Well, that would be tonight's dinner. This really was one of the strangest dreams he'd had in a very, _very _long time.

"I now pronounce you: husband and wife."

Gordon turned his head left and looked into Alyx's soft, brown eyes. They were both standing in the middle of a graveyard in Ravenholm, at midnight, surrounded by the undead and being wed by a nutter priest wielding a shotgun. Life didn't get much better than this.

Alyx herself looked beautiful: Gordon hadn't noticed it before but she seemed to be wearing a long, flowing, white wedding dress which trailed along the ground for a fair few metres behind her. He, typically enough, was wearing the HEV suit; the happiest dream of Gordon's life and he hadn't even thought to change. Still, it was commando. There'd be no telling what the two of them would be getting up to that night.

Vaguely wondering why Father Grigori had chosen to wear a live headcrab as a ceremonial hat, Gordon moved his face closer to Alyx's. They were close enough to touch.

All of a sudden, the perfect moment was rudely interupted by a loud yell in Gordon's left ear.

"Headcrabs!"

Well, that was sort of the point. It was Ravenholm, after all.

Grigori began to laugh manically, his voice muffled by the crab that had converged onto his face, and Gordon slowly and reluctantly slid back to reality.

When he opened his eyes, a pair of tight-bottomed jeans were staring right back at him.

Wondering if he was still actually dreaming, Gordon drearily lifted himself up from his bare matress. A gunshot rang through the air, followed by another one, followed by a high-pitched screech, followed by a swear word, followed by the slightly comical but immensely satisfying sound of a foot making contact with the body of a headcrab.

Gordon swung his legs over the egde of the rusted bed frame, rubbed his eyes and put on his spectacles. Of course, he and Alyx were still on watch for the night. It must be time to change shifts.

He looked up to find the rather sexy, powerful silhouette of Alyx Vance towering over him. She was framed by the blinding brightness of the sixty Watt bulb they had hanging over their heads and was holding a sleek, black pistol at the ready.

"Nearly got me, that one. You alright for your shift now?"

Gordon nodded slowly and heaved himself onto his feet. He couldn't shake the image of Alyx in a wedding dress from his mind. She had looked _so beautiful._

"You're from twelve until two. I'm gonna try and get some rest now."

So it was actually midnight. Could things be starting to make sense?

"Good luck with those headcrabs."

Gordon knew what he wanted to do; could he bring himself to do it? Alyx was smiling at him gently. He knew she'd understand.

"Alyx?"

Alyx, who had just been about to lay down on the makeshift bed, sat up almost in alarm. She stared at Gordon in incredulity.

"Did you actually say something?"

"Yes," Gordon replied, a little hoarsely. He gulped. Talking again after all this time wasn't easy.

"How come you've never said anything before?"

"I never had anything to say." Gordon knew how lame this sounded. He also knew it was true. Autism gave time for thinking, not talking.

"Have you got anything to say now?"

Alyx stood up from the edge of the bed and walked over to him. She seemed glad, elated. Gordon knew this was the right time.

"Yes, I do." He took a deep breath. "I love you, Alyx."

All of a sudden, Alyx had flung her arms around him. Gordon breathed in her pleasant scent, felt the odd softness of her clothes against his gloved hands. Damn this suit made things awkward. Having it on all the time was a real -

Before he could continue this witty comment, Gordon found himself locked in a vigorous kiss. He no longer knew where they both were; he vaguely felt the spring of the matress underneath his back as he and Alyx clung to each other, alive with passion.

Well, this chapter hadn't turned out too bad.


	2. I'm busy

**Many thanks to the people who reviewed. :) Here's chapter 2:**

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Gordon didn't know how much time had passed but he did know he was lying quite comfortably on a metal bed, "keeping watch", while the most beautiful and perfect woman he had ever had the fortune to meet, not to mention fight through hordes of aliens with, used his HEV-clad chest as a makeshift pillow. He sighed and looked over Alyx's sleeping figure. She was so dominant and vibrant when fighting, like a provocative vixen, but so delicate sweet when sleeping. Her touch felt like a warm cat, dozing in the early morning hours, but Gordon resented slightly the black and orange barrier he had between himself and Alyx. As soon as he could, as soon as Earth was safe for more than five minutes, he'd be stripping that suit off and relishing the pure experiences of nature. Incidentally, he'd probably be stripping off most of his other clothes too, but that would come with the swing of things.

Gordon chuckled to himself, doing a remarkably good impression of some cartoon character he'd seen on the TV not too long before the disaster at Black Mesa. What was his name? _Peter_ something... Gordon couldn't remember too well. All this fighting and staying up all night, being kept awake by constant shots of amphetamines, had taken its toll on his memory. Still it was his duty to mankind, after starting what he had ended up starting.

Gordon chuckled again. "Heh heh. Doody."

At that moment he noticed a chubby beige headcrab nosing around on the floor beneath the edge of his bed. Realising that the headcrab had no discernible nose anyway, and questioning the appropriateness of the former statement, he turned to face it. The headcrab looked between him and Alyx, almost in exasperation, and raised a front claw, pointing at him and then itself in an inquiry as to the the diplomacy of the current situation.

Gordon shook his head, a smile creeping across his face. He pointed to himself, then to Alyx, then traced a love heart in the air with his fingers, then stabbed a right forefinger through a circle comprised of his left index finger and thumb, and then thrust his fists backwards and forwards either side of his pelvis. Topping it off with a wink, Gordon made it quite clear that the headcrab was not to be involved in any kind of threesome. Its gender and sexual status were questionable anyway.

The crab lowered its claws with a disappointed moan, realizing that it was not actually the symbol of sexual prowess it had made clear to its friends. It slowly wandered back out through the open doorway of the hut, once again questioning its retained virginity. How hard was it to get a zombie these days?

Gordon felt sympathetic to the headcrab as he watched it go. Life was hard sometimes. He remained lying on the bed, idly stroking Alyx's luscious hair as she mumbled sleepily in her dreams.

Not long after this, a wandering zombie came upon the hut. Knowing the legend of the Freeman from countless tales told by its friends and prophecies from various astrologers, it entered through the bare doorway before halting abruptly at the harmonious sight of Gordon and Alyx lying together.

Gordon looked over at the zombie and shook his head. Not satisfied, the undead creature sauntered over to the frail bedside cabinet and brushed the loaded pistol lying there onto the bed's bare mattress.

Again, Gordon shook his head, pointing towards the doorway. The zombie tried to protest.

"Yabba- ?"

"Out. Now."

Disgruntled but obedient, the bloodied undead corpse left the room. Gordon sighed in exasperation. Just a few moments of peace would be nice...

Just then, his thoughts were rudely interrupted once again by a cold, malicious voice.

_"Doctor Freeeman..."_

Turning to his right, Gordon saw the irritating appearance of a middle-aged man in a blue suit, holding a slim briefcase, next to his bed. This was getting annoying now.

"I know this moment may not be the most..._convenient_...for a heart-to-"

The man's voice was abruptly cut short by the comical sound of a gloved fist coming into brutal contact with his groin. His face showing nothing more than a vague look if surprise, the man keeled perfectly backwards clutching his genitals, his voice a much higher pitch than before.

"Jeesuus Chrissst..."

"I'm busy."

Gordon felt extremely satisfied by this gesture of indifference. He resumes the stroking of Alyx's hair.

"I hope you've got some ice in that briefcase."


	3. Uneducated Weirdo

**Sorry I haven't updated this is a while, I've been on holiday for the last week and a bit without decent internet. However, to make up for it I've got two chapters for your enjoyment. Please review if it's worth it! :)**

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Early the next morning, Gordon and Alyx were sitting arm in arm near the edge of a cliff facing east, watching the pale orange sun rise over the sea. The view, being on the coast, was rather beautiful at six thirty AM and the pair decided to indulge in a second, warm, satisfying kiss as they rested together. Unfortunately, this delayed the sunrise slightly for anyone else who happened to be watching as the Sun itself, being one of the shyer and more sensitive types of stars, was reluctant to intrude on such an obviously personal situation. It waited until Alyx and Gordon had released each other from their passionate grips before sneaking past quietly and resuming its daily schedule watching over the Earth, all the while wondering why it hadn't asked God out while it had had the chance about fourteen billion years ago.

Gordon, of course, was oblivious to these emotional lusts and ramblings, having only recently fulfilled his own. He smiled and ran his hand through Alyx's soft fragrant hair as she snuggled next to him and lay her head gently on his shoulder.

In a split second Gordon had lifted his pistol, pointed it over his shoulder and shot twice in quick succession as the waiting headcrab that had been stealthily shuffling towards him, all without looking. He smiled. Take that, headhumper. They didn't call him the 5harp5h00tah for nothing.

Actually, they didn't call him the the five-harp-five-aich-zero-zero-tah anyway. What the hell. That would be stupid. What kind of weirdos spelt names like that? Damn uneducated weirdos.

Gordon thought back to his days at MIT. That paper titled "Observation of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Entanglement on Supraquantum Structures by Induction through Nonlinear Transuranic Crystal of Extremely Long Wavelength (ELW) Pulse from Mode-Locked Source Array." Well, he certainly wasn't an _uneducated_ weirdo.

Just then, a stray zombie wandered up towards Gordon, wondering what was going on. Being the social type of zombie, it stood on the cliffside and waved to Gordon with a friendly "Au-hoight?"

Gordon's reply to this was a skilful flick of his HEV-clad foot which clipped the foot of the zombie. Overbalancing completely, the zombie toppled over the sheer edge and fell, a resounding splat and crunch echoing back a few seconds later.

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "So there were rocks down there, too." He gave a smile. "Uneducated weirdo."

The zombie, now scattered into half a dozen different pieces, gave an irritated call back up the cliff to Gordon. Leaving Alyx for a moment, he stood up and peered over the edge.

"Really?" questioned Gordon provocatively. "And what college did you go to?"

A cry reverberated back from the sea below that sounded suspiciously like "Yur mum!"

Gordon sighed in satisfaction. "I rest my case."

Taking Alyx's warm hand, the pair stood up and climbed back into the dual-seater car that they had come across when they had been journeying towards White Forest. They'd personalized it since then; there were red and blue racing stripes painted by Gordon, a couple of flowers and dead headcrabs from Alyx and even an inscription of a tiny, profusely hairy penis from Barney, labelled with the phrase "Gorden's nob". What Barney had used as ink no-one knew, but all the scrubbing and detergents in the world couldn't remove the tiny cartoon, much to Gordon's dismay. Still, he had made the most of a bad situation by engraving with the sharp end of a drill bit the mouth and face of Barney around the penis, captioning it with "At least _she_ doesn't spit out my load".

Quite what had been implied by this even Gordon himself didn't know, but Alyx had never inquired about it and Gordon sincerely hoped that Barney wouldn't follow him up on this statement. Barney's cake-hole was only good for a select number of things and challenging this accusation was not an experiment Gordon wished to participate in.

At that moment Gordon looked up towards the sky and saw an elegant, white bird circling there. "Oh look," he said in mild interest. "A swallow."

Gently accelerating, Gordon and Alyx rolled smoothly away from the cliffside, arm in arm. All that was left was the dead zombie lying in pieces on the rocks below, feeling for certain that a reference had just passed way over its head.


	4. I Promise

It was later in the evening, after fighting off many a Combine raid during the day, that things took a turn.

Gordon was sitting with Alyx in their "nicely decorated" car, enjoying life more than he ever had before since the Black Mesa disaster. The evening was warm, the sky was clear and the small pine forest they were parked by provided plenty of cover for any "indiscretions" that may occur. Gordon noticed that Alyx seemed a little quieter than usual; while the two of them were in combat she was her usual vibrant self, but her mood had definitely softened with the growing darkness of the sunset. Gordon suspected something was up and a part of him wanted to know what, so he could show more comfort and support than firing a gun was able to offer.

At this thought, Alyx turned her head towards Gordon, slightly cautiously. Her eyes seemed to avoid contact with his.

"Gordon... I need to talk to you."

Well, there you have it, Gordon thought. Suspicions confirmed, he gently placed an arm around Alyx's shoulders.

"Sure, any time," he replied reassuringly.

Alyx took a deep breath and held it for a moment before placing it back on the ground where she had found it.

"I don't want you to leave me."

Gordon felt slightly puzzled at this statement. They'd been together for a day and already she thought he wanted to leave? Was this the way female minds worked?

"Of course I'm not going to leave you" Gordon said, betraying a little of his confusion. "We've only properly been together since last night and-"

"No," Alyx cut in dismissively. "I don't mean that. It's just... What if you get killed?"

She looked up at Gordon, her brown eyes reflecting the star-filled sky above. Gordon felt a tad uncomfortable and still puzzled as he replied.

"Well... I'd be dead."

"Exactly. And who would I have then?" Alyx's eyes glazed slightly with the beginning of a tear as she stared at the car's exposed bonnet in front of her. Suddenly, Gordon realised what the conversation was about.

"Well," he said sheepishly, "there's always Dog."

Alyx looked at Gordon in a way that was almost indignant. "As much as I love him," she said, "he hardly compares to you. I mean, it would be a little difficult to continue the human race with a large metal robot."

"He doesn't have a penis," Gordon stated blandly.

"Well yes, exactly..." Alyx herself was beginning to sound confused now. "What I mean is..."

She sighed and Gordon saw a glistening tear roll down her left cheek.

"Ever since my Dad died I feel like I've lost a part of myself. There's a great big hole in my life that I need to fill."

Gordon turned his head. For the slightest moment, he thought he had heard a faint shout of "Giggity!" echoing from the forest to his right. Choosing to ignore whatever it might have been, he tightened his grip slightly around Alyx's body.

"My Dad was my lifeline. He was the only parent I properly knew and now he's gone..."

Alyx choked slightly, a couple of tears falling onto her blue jeans. Gordon was at a loss for what to say.

Then, Alyx's eyes suddenly made contact with Gordon's. Her tear-stained face was no longer strong and smiling like the Alyx he was used to. She was weak, broken. Gordon was the only one she had left.

In a rush of passion, the two clung to each other as the final beams of the sun disappeared from the sky. Gordon could feel Alyx sobbing silently into his right shoulder. He had never anticipated anything like this. Alyx had always been so powerful on her own, always able to take care of herself, but it seemed that her father, Eli, had always been the one person tender to her. Gordon wished he knew what to do next, but if one thing was for certain it was that he would never let Alyx go.

"Promise me you'll be careful, won't you?" A murmur drifted from just behind Gordon's ear. "I don't want to lose you too."

Even Gordon could now feel tears behind his eyes.

"I promise."

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**I decided to go for a bit more "emotional involvement" in this chapter and develop the relationship a bit, instead of murdering common sense in every way, shape and form. Hopefully it'll make a nice change. I've also got a Dog-concerned chapter coming up which is based on a bizzare humour idea I once had. Keep a look out!**

**P.S. "I like!" = "Is very nice!" = Reviews! :D**


	5. Lucky Dog

**Here's what is now the penultimate chapter of Vest In Me. I'm afraid Chapter 6 will be the last, but boy will it be good! It's all about...well, I'll leave that to you to find out. :)**

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Early the next afternoon, Gordon and Alyx began to draw near the White Forest rebel base. The high emotional content of the previous evening didn't seem to have had any lasting effect on Alyx, who was her lively, combat-happy self once again, but Gordon couldn't help noticing that she stuck a little closer to him than usual, rarely letting him out of her sight. Not that he minded particularly; Alyx had become the most special person in the world to Gordon and the extra time he spent with her was a welcome treat.

At long last, the metal-walled silos of the base came into sight. Gordon squinted and thought he could just about make out two figures beside one of the buildings: one of them being large and almost scary-looking, and comprised of a load of junk, he guessed it was Barney. Next to him was Dog, the eight-foot-high mechanical monstrosity of Alyx's that Gordon had learned to love.

It was at times like these, sitting in a car on a warm day and being surrounded by great friends, that Gordon was glad he'd made the decision he had after being retrieved from Xen by his mysterious employer. If he'd refused the man's demands, who knows what could have happened? Maybe being marooned on a hostile alien planet...without weapons...loads of alien grunts, possibly...

Gordon shook his head. He was sure it wouldn't have been life-threatening, what with all the health and safety regulations these days. Even "Being marooned in a toddler's ball pit with nothing but a space hopper" would incur a fair bit of paperwork. Gordon could imagine the risk assessment now:

"What is the risk of your employer taking two plastic balls and inserting them into their underpants to make it seem as though they have an overly large pair of genitals?"

Yeah, that kind of crazy red tape was all but commonplace nowadays.

As a matter of fact, the genitals had given Gordon an idea for next time Alyx and himself got intimate... Hand cream...big juicy tomatoes...pint of rhubarb yoghurt...rubber inner tube...actually no, that wouldn't really work.

At this point, Gordon's fairly irrelevant train of thought was terminated at platform Barney as Alyx drew the car up alongside him and Dog. Dog, evidently over the moon to see his mistress again after the couple of days she'd been absent, bounded up to the vehicle and scooped Alyx out with a surprisingly gentle metal "paw". Gordon, as a matter of preference, alighted from the car without assistance.

"Gordon!" Barney called, the usual mildly amused smirk present on his face. "Back from your trip, I see."

"Sure thing," Gordon replied, and watched Barney's jaw drop to his feet with a clang. He felt confused for a moment, then suddenly realised in a rush of understanding: Barney hadn't heard him speak since they were last in Black Mesa. It was weird how quickly he had taken to talking again.

"Jesus, Gordon!" Barney marvelled, fitting his mouth back where it should have been.. "I haven't heard you say a word since we were last in Black Mesa!"

Gordon felt somewhat unsurprised by Barney's predictability.

"When did this happen? There must have been something damn important that happened on that trip of yours!"

"Can we discuss this later?" Gordon asked discreetly, as Alyx was still being fussed over by her metal friend next to the car. He wasn't too inclined to be sharing the entire proceedings of his and Alyx's excursion in the first few seconds he spent back at White Forest.

"Come on, Gordon," Barney persisted. "You can tell me, we're buddies."

"How about you tell me what you used for ink when you scribbled that dick on the side of the car?"

Barney gave a cough and replied, a little too quickly for Gordon's liking. "Believe me, you don't want to know. Anyway," he said, hurriedly changing the subject. "Shall we head inside? Magnusson'll go coke-head crazy if we stay around his surface intruder receptors any longer."

"Yeah, we can go as soon as Alyx and Dog are finished cavorting," Gordon smiled. Dog was now shuffling restlessly on the dusty ground as Alyx composed herself in the aftermath of her greeting, and Gordon and Barney strode over to the slightly comical pair.

"Are you sure Dog's not going insane this morning?" Barney inquired, causing the robot to emit a couple of indignant clicks.

Alyx studied Dog carefully. "I dunno," she said. "He does seem a little more eccentric than usual. Maybe something's up with his mechanics."

At this moment, it seemed that Dog couldn't bear to stand in any way that vaguely resembled still any longer. With one swift prance he bounced over to the metal wall of one of the silos and propped a large pneumatic leg up against the corrugated surface. What proceeded to cascade from the machine was a clear spout of liquid, steaming as it ran down the wall towards the ground. Gordon couldn't help speculating that Dog had been somewhat desperate for his equivalent of a pee.

At the rather surreal sight, Alyx gave a slightly relieved chuckle. "I know what's happened," she reassured the other two, Barney gazing on with a half engrossed, half disturbed look upon his face. "You know I refilled his radiator fluids about a week ago? He must have filtered them and been ready to release the old stuff. It's like his 'once a month' thing, y'know?"

Dog still remained standing at his post, radiator coolant flowing freely, as Barney burst into laughter. "I don't want to hear any more of this," he guffawed, putting out a hand in protest. "Now that you mention it, that nozzle you used to fill him with on Saturday did look sorta like a dil-"

At this point, Barney became incomprehensible and had to lean against the frame of the car to stop himself collapsing. Gordon didn't quite know whether to feel enlightened or disturbed by the state of affairs, or which would be more appropriate.

Dog, having finally finished his business, trotted back over to Alyx pleasantly as Barney attempted to get a hold of himself. Before anyone had time to react, however, the air was filled with the urgent drill of a klaxon as red lights in the nearby buildings began flashing more frequently than a team of hookers on a birthday night out.

Seriously, Gordon thought to himself as he hurriedly scanned the area for any approaching enemies, where _did_ he keep getting these random analogies from? It was almost as if a higher power was watching over his life and filling his mind with all sorts of crap. Still, some of the crap was good; he was sure that the shout of "Giggity" that had issued randomly from the woods late the last evening would have had some people in hysterics for at least ten minutes.

The trio plus dog jumped suddenly again as an irritated and angry shout issued from a loudspeaker somewhere in the undergrowth. "Damned alarms! That can't be striders or we'd have picked them up on the radars! If it's the crows nesting in my electronics again I swear I'll be going out and sniping them down myself!"

Alyx hurried over to the intercom system on the side of the nearest silo. "Don't worry, Dr. Magnusson," she reassured the voice. "Me, Gordon, Barney and Dog are all up here and there's no sign of intruders, or crows. Everything's fine." She cut the communication for a moment and glanced exasperatedly at Dog. "Dog, why'd you have to go over near the sensors? You could have done some damage."

Magnusson's voice surfaced again, sounding relieved but still a little annoyed. "Ah good, Alyx, you're back. Come down to the labs, and if you see any other creatures on your way do me a favour and _keep them out of my expensive machinery!_"

The transmission terminated abruptly, cutting off the alarms and lights at the same time. Alyx heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well, looks like we got out of that one." She strode back over to Gordon and Barney and gestured towards the entrance to a descending flight of stairs. "Quick, let's go down before anyone finds out what Dog might have done to Magnusson's equipment."

Barney's earlier hilarity now having evaporated, he, Gordon, Alyx and her pet began to head underground towards the laboratories. "So tell me, Gordon," Barney pursued as they began to climb down the concrete stairway. "What exactly happened on your excursion? You seem like a whole different guy."

Gordon felt unsure about whether he should even attempt a reply, and if he did, how he would possibly explain how he felt. He hesitated, and luckily Alyx stepped in at exactly the right moment.

"Don't worry, Gordon," she said calmly, gazing at him with her beautiful brown eyes. "I'll tell him."

And she did, in the most perfect seven words Gordon had ever heard her say.

"Barney; Gordon and I are in love."

Barney stopped walking and took a moment to absorb the news while a smile spread delightedly across his face. "Well, Gordon! Like I said back in City 17 all that time ago: you lucky dog!"

Dog swooned his approval.

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**Reviews always wlcome! :D**


	6. Never Forget

_"Reconnaisance and Fugitive Location Unit 7, status update: report in."_

_"Delta 45, Sector 12. Found spent bullet cases. Targets are headed south-east towards disused mines. Will track and report."_

_"Confirm discovery: used box of SPAS shotgun ammunition."_

_"Look, a penny!"_

The developmentally disabled soldier was promptly reprimanded by the whack of a sub-machine gun butt to the back of the helmet. He recoild slightly.

_"I'll thank you, _Zacharias,_ to keep your damn trap shut!"_ the leader of the RFLU barked through his transcoder. _"We'll stay on the trail and update as necessary,"_ he informed the communications operator. _"Unit on alert."_

About half a mile in front of the Fugitive Location Unit, the two "targets" were indeed making their way as quickly as possible towards the abandoned mines. Gordon and Alyx, keen to avoid any fierce confrontations with Combine forces, were anxious to lose the party that had been following them for the past half-hour. The addition of zombies and headcrabs, from the many cannisters that had fallen like blackened meteors over their general area in the last evening, were making life more than a little difficult.

Gordon fired off a round from his shotgun into the face of a flaming zombie as he and Alyx passed through what evidently used to be some sort of campsite set up in a clearing in the forest. Without even thinking he flung the handle of the weapon over his shoulder, nutting a fast zombie that had been making a leap for his head, before mowing down three of the bog-standard creatures without even a "Yabba" issuing from their obstructed mouths. Gordon smiled inwardly to himself; he'd sometimes wondered how he'd fare in a total zombie apocalpyse where the majority of the Earth's population had become infected. As long as he wasn't left completely for dead against a massive mutated hulk of a zombie, he reckoned he'd probably do OK.

Heh. Spot the references.

At that moment, a massive snythesised howl shook the air amidst a multitude of earth-shaking thumps that echoed through the ground like pre-shocks along the fault line in San Francisco. The only difference was that, unlike earthquake-proof buildings, Gordon and Alyx certainly weren't very well protected against the large disaster that was rounding the edge of the forest towards them.

Gordon's worst fears were confirmed as Alyx gave a loud shout of profanity.

"Striders!" she yelled as both Gordon and herself dived for cover behind some of the more substantial tree trunks surrounding them. "Looks like our trailing party's got backup!"

The huge synth monster, wailing almost melodically, stopped short at the open end of the forest path, acting as a sentry on the border of trees. Peeking around his wooden cover (he now knew the weird-feeling lust for the trees that most tree-huggers probably posessed), Gordon finally spied his target: an open cave mouth agape in the side of the rock cliff like the jaws of a monster. Still, he reckoned it was a better bet than the vapourising plasma-powered _super-penis_ of their impending strider. Seriously, those wang-like things were flipping massive. Gordon wondered what making love to one of those creatures would really feel like.

Oh, great. He was now feeling the same attraction to a strider that he should be reserving for Alyx. That was just _morbidly obese._

"Morbid- " Gordon stopped quickly and shook his head. "- I mean, Alyx! We need to get into that mine somehow!"

"I know, I'm thinking," Alyx replied. She studied the situation; luckily their tripod-legged friend was still unaware of her and Gordon's presence. "We need a diversion. Got any explosives on you?"

Gordon dug into his ammo belt. "One grenade," he informed, holding up the solitary explosive. "I don't see how much that's going to do against a full-blown strider."

"No, no, it's fine. That's all we need." Alyx gave Gordon a knowing smile. "Get your crowbar out and follow me.

Gordon crouched, incredulous, for a moment. What the hell did this crazy woman want him to do?

"I am _not_ taking on _that_ thing with _this_ thing!"

"Don't worry," Alyx sighed in exasperation. "You're not gonna be crowbarring any brains out of any striders. Just follow my lead."

Creeping as quietly as they were able, Gordon and Alyx slowly drew near to the synth that was towering over them. Keeping cover behind a cluster of trees, Alyx instructed Gordon on her scheme.

"Make a notch into the bark here with the crowbar. Right, now stick the grenade in there nice and tight. When I say, pull the pin out and run the hell away like Michael Jackson after an escaped little boy. Got it?"

"I think so." Gordon looked questioningly at his mastermind. "We won't actually be getting involved with any small children, will we-"

"Just shut up and pull the pin."

Pausing momentarily in anticipation, Gordon let the tension climb slightly. Then, with one fluid movement, he swiftly pulled the metal pin, stood up and began to sprint for the border of the forest.

Alyx wasn't far behind. As the manic rustling in the undergrowth behind the strider alerted it to someone's presence, the synthetic swoon had barely been uttered when the timer on the grenade reached nil.

The poor tree to have been unfairly subjected to this injustice was ripped from its roots by the modest explosion. Keeling sideways, it hit the strider with a clang of wood on metal armour as both Gordon and Alyx made a final sprint for the open entrance to the mines. Unfortunately the strider, having attended the Open University for a number of years and so being too intelligent to be distracted that easily, caught sight of its targets just as they disappeared into the darkness of the inner cliffside.

Gordon, with Alyx bringing up the rear (good combination in his opinion), barely had time to notice the car wreckages and overturned mining carts that were strewn along the tunnel before the distinctive sound of a wangcannon charging reached his ears.

"Look out!" he yelled, diving behind the shell of a white hatchback for cover. "It's ejaculation for the nation!"

No sooner had this remark left his mouth (and a good remark at that, Gordon prided himself) than the blast from the cannon ripped into the cliff face just above the mine entrance. Typically, mines being abandoned mines, the ceilings began to rumble as boulders dropped from the many crevices above.

"Oh," Gordon commented as he and Alyx proceeded to cower behind the vehicle. "How cliché. Can we not for once go into a mine that's _not due to fall apart at the seams in the next five minutes,_ FOR FU- "

Luckily at this point, to prevent this FanFic from being moved up to an M-rating, both the ceiling and the floor gave way to block out the loud profanity, and for the next couple of seconds all that Gordon knew was dust and rocks and black.

After all this particulate matter had settled, Gordon began to explore his senses. It appeared he was lying on top of something hard and metal; maybe the car he and Alyx had sheltered behind had taken the fall slightly earlier than them. It seemed to be wedged, or at least balanced, on some sort of obstruction; even without opening his eyes, Gordon could somehow feel that there was a large and rather nasty drop directly below him and Alyx.

Come to think of it, was Alyx alright? Rubbing the dust from his spectacles, Gordon sat up in an attempt to take in some of his new surroundings, but instantly wished he hadn't. At the slightest movement, the body of the car Gordon was perched on began to sway almost nauseously to one side like a see-saw, forcing him to quickly readjust his balance.

"Gordon, no!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Gordon spotted Alyx sprawled over the rear boot of the car, her legs dangling off the framework into the apparent abyss below. The car, he could see now, was precariously situated indeed: an old structural beam, part of the framework of an old mining cavern, was the only thing that appeared to be supporting the duo's bizzare playground attraction. Something was wedged underneath the vehicle, the beam between driving shafts perhaps, but it wouldn't take much to topple the entire contraption over the edge and down into the vast drop below.

"Gordon, stay there, don't move!" Akyx shouted in urgency. "I'm gonna try to climb back up. Make sure you counterbalance the car."

Slightly bemused by the sudden request, Gordon slowly began to move backwards towards the edge of the bonnet. Ever so carefully, Alyx managed to hook a foot onto the rear bumper and haul herself to relative safety; another scuffle broke loose from the walls of the pit and a few small rocks clattered down onto the already dented roof of the car.

"Jesus, Gordon, that was close." Alyx heaved a sigh of relief but made sure to stay perfectly still. "How the hell did we get like this?"

"I really have no idea." Gordon felt exasperated and more than a little annoyed at his prodicament: of all people and times, why him? It was all these almost impossible situations that brought his life a little closer to hell with every chapter.

"Well, we can't stay here," Alyx said with a quick scan of her surroundings. "We're going to somehow have to get off this damn car. Try and stand up, but for God's sake be careful."

As if Gordon needed telling.

Within a few tense moments both Gordon and Alyx were on their feet, balancing the vehicle below them like trapeize artists.

"How are we going to ger back up to the tunnel again?" Gordon inquired. They appeared to be just a little below where the car had fallen from, but the hole through which it had dropped was surprisingly wide: he might just be able to reach the top edge from his end but Alyx, jumping from the rear, had nothing to grab in at least a six metre radius.

"I don't know," she replied, still analysing the surrounding rock faces. "Let's try and edge back to the middle."

Meticulously, the two began to slowly edge their way towards the central balancing point of the car. Without warning, the entire frame shuddered and slipped and Gordon had to grab the metal sides of the broken windscreen to stop himself from toppling over the edge.

Crouching stock still, Alyx and Gordon held their breath while the vehicle settled itself once again.

"OK, we've got a problem," Alyx stated worriedly. "I don't think this thing can hold out much longer. I'm not gonna risk moving again."

"So what the hell do we do now?" Gordon, unlike his usual demeanour, was beginning to panic. All he wanted to do was get of the wreck of a car to safety.

"Well," Alyx sighed, suddenly melancholy, "Someone's got to jump. That's our only choice."

Gordon felt puzzled. "But you can't reach anything from your end."

"I know," Alyx replied. "It's got to be you."

All of a sudden, the reality of the situation hit Gordon in the face like a fist. He couldn't believe it. It was untrue.

"But... I can't leave you here!" he argued. "If I jump, this car's gonna fall and you'll go with it. You'll die, Alyx!"

"Gordon, you're not making this any easier!" Alyx had suddenly turned fierce and Gordon was taken aback. But he couldn't leave her here; she was the perfect girl, his perfect girl. His. If he leapt, she would fall.

"Fine," Gordon said with finality, although something inside him knew that debating was no use. "Alyx, I'm not leaving you to die. If you fall, I fall as well. We'll go together."

"Oh, Gordon..."

Alyx bowed her head and Hordon noticed a glittering tear fall onto the roof of the car. Their deathbed.

"I can't let you do that. I love you too much, and for that reason you have to save yourself. The resistance needs you, Gordon. The world needs you."

"The world needs you too, though," Gordon said in dismay. The blunt realisation was dawning on him for real now. "I.. I can't go on without you."

"Gordon, you have to." Alyx turned her tear-stained face to his and Gordon felt his eyes well up. "People need you more than they need me. You're their inspiration."

"But..." Gordon had run out of words. He knew what he had to do, but that didn't make doing it any easier.

And he couldn't hold back the tears any more.

"Gordon, I'll -" Alyx sobbed slightly. "I'll be alright. My time's up now. I'll be with Dad again."

Suddenly, Gordon knew there was nothing more he could ever say to change Alyx's mind. Eyes streaming, he turned to face his target: the high ledge.

"I'm sorry, Gordon."

"I'll never forget you, Alyx."

"Goodbye."

As Gordon leapt, time passed in slow motion. He knew he had to make the jump, or Alyx's death would have been in vain, but he couldn't help looking back at her helpless figure sliding into oblivion. Her tears seemed to fall faster than anything else.

As Gordon's fingertips found the firm surface of rock, Alyx slipped into darkness.

Time...

* * *

**And that's that. I'm not saying for definite that this is the end, but I won't be writing updates for a little while as I'll be freer to write pieces for _Entanglement_ which has taken a bit of a back seat for a while.**

**Reviews, as always, are welcome. :)**


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